Tag Archives: LG

This article is unusual for pivotCE. Most of our articles are aimed at the general reader, but this one is specifically aimed at those with knowledge of javascript frameworks – specifically frameworks designed for app development. We hope this article will reach such people in our community and beyond in the hope that the LuneOS project can benefit from a range of experience and insight and even perhaps recruit some new contributors.

Long time webOS fans will be aware that one of it’s features was the ease with which apps could be created using methods more associated with web design. Most (non-game) apps were in fact mixtures of HTML & javascript. This and the ‘synergy’ of connecting data from various remote services into common user interfaces is what gave the system the name of webOS.

In the early days, webOS was at the cutting edge of using web technologies, but performance was not as responsive compared to more traditionally coded apps. Since the days of legacy webOS, many improvements have been made in app development frameworks and their implementation to bring speed up towards that of ‘native’ apps or at least fast enough for the user to see little difference. Increasing speed, power and multi-core processors have also helped, though performance is beginning to plateau as the physical limits of current hardware is reached.

The first (proprietary) development framework for webOS was called ‘Mojo’. After the purchase by HP, the (Open-source) ‘Enyo’ framework was introduced to target more varied screen sizes. Version 1 ran on the webOS 3.0 HP TouchPad and was back-ported to phones. Version 2 became a cross-platform framework also.

Of course, we all know about the end of hardware at HP and the eventual sell off of all parts of webOS. Officially, the Open-webOS project is still maintained by LG & HP and LG’s Silicon Valley lab have continued to develop the Enyo JS framework. The part used to make the UI for mobile apps is called ‘Onyx’. To make apps suitable for Television screens, LG developed a new UI library called, ‘Moonstone’. Enyo itself has developed through version 2.5 to now stand at version 2.7 and LGSVL now looks to the next generation of Enyo (Forum comments). But this brings with it potential problems for LuneOS.

LG has had a few announcements at CES over the years and some of them have included webOS since the company unveiled it’s webOS smart TVs in 2014.

The televisions are now on to version 3 of the OS. Late last year we saw stories that webOS would appear on a video projector and in the last few days a refrigerator.

What did the CES presentation in Las Vegas have to offer? As ever, it was less than hoped (at least for webOS on mobile fans), but within the bounds of it’s presentation, what was shown was very impressive.

LG opened it’s friends website yesterday. If you are wondering what friends are, they are plug in accessories for LG’s new G5 flagship smart-phone.

You may be wondering why these friends are being mentioned on this webOS website. No, the G5 is not a new webOS phone & it’s not an LGwebOS TV. In the smart-phone area, LG remain wedded to Android.

In a way, this concept harks back to early Palm Visor devices which could have additional, ‘Springboard’ modules added. One such item was a phone module – Yes folks, this was the start of smart-phones.

So what’s our interest here? It’s a bit of a long-shot: The G5, as a flagship phone is powerful. One (not impossible) accessory could be a hardware keyboard. LuneOS runs on a base of Android drivers. A G5 plus keyboard & LuneOS could give us a modern, powerful, webOS phone. Think about it: Developing a nice keyboard accessory is far easier than a whole new phone.

So there’s a website to keep an eye on in the hope a keyboard appears. You could even sign up and BE the one who makes it, although apparently all accessory development has to be done in partnership (and therefore with the permission of) LG. There is some debate about how much developer interest they will get on these accessories. I guess it will depend on the terms and LG’s own commitment to this modular approach.

So what about that image? Does it look like the devices are badly pasted onto the models? What’s with the slightly creepy green cats (The LG ‘Play-cats’)? No, I don’t know either. You can discuss it here.